Barack Obama was in Moscow this week to "reset" US-Russian relations. Relations have slid backwards over the last decade, mostly because of the US invasion of Iraq and then Russian aggression in Georgia. Obama's demeanor has been described as business-like, a change from George Bush's romantic notions of seeing Putin's soul.
Obama was able to secure a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The treaty would reduce nuclear warheads to 1500 per country, and 500 delivery systems. Russian president Dmitri Medvedev also promised to help secure loose nukes in former Soviet states. A new "joint threat assessment" would also help minimize new nuclear programs by working together to persuade countries to abandon their own nuclear programs, especially "clandestine" (read Iran) programs.
On the table was also the United States missile defense program. Obama acknowledge that the missile defense program could theoretically be turned into a missile offense program, but that the scale of the program would make such a transition meaningless in light of the Russian's military power. However, Obama has hinted that the program is up for review under his administration, a test it would most likely fail.
The concessions made by each country are a good start, but they both still have enough nuclear warheads to destroy the world dozens of times over. PBS has reported that the White House wanted even greater reductions, but would not make any concessions to do so. All of this looks as though another summit could result in an even further reductions of warheads, plus a suspension of the missile defense shield.
Obama has certainly ushered in a new tone for US-Russian relations, going so far to say that power is not a zero sum game and that the two countries share many strategic goals. There are still issues on the table, such as NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia, but Obama expressed a desire for more cultural exchange. Hopefully, this could lead to greater trade and a convergence of those issues. Much suspicion still exist between the two countries, but summits between leaders and cultural exchange between citizens can only dissuade those fears.
Next up for Obama is the G8 summit in Italy and a meeting with the Pope.
1 comment:
Good post, this stuff is so important to keep up with! Hail Obama, for trying to make the world a safer place by negotiating with foreign powers for the reduction and elimination of the nuclear threat. Wouldn't it be nice to live in a world where that fear wasn't always present. We've all lived with it all our lives, have just gotten used to it, and forget what it was like to not have the threat of nuclear annihilation always hanging over our head. And at least Obama is talking to people and doing what he can to make things better, instead of sticking his head in the sand and pouting that he doesn't talk to bad guys, like the last administration. Let's hope this all amounts to more than talk.
Post a Comment